NEGOTIATING ETHNIC IDENTITIES - Alcohol as a Social Marker in East and West Malaysia By Timo Kortteinen1 Academy Research Fellow Department of Sociology University of Helsinki Finland

The paper will be published in Akademika in 2008.

1

For comments, the author can be reached at tkorttei@mappi.helsinki.fi.

2

Abstract From the point of view of alcohol consumption, there are two contradicting tendencies in the present-day Malaysian society. On the one hand, Western influences, including the consumption of alcoholic beverages, have gained ground along with industrialisation and increased standards of living. On the other hand, Islam has become more influential in the country during the past couple of decades. These two contradict each other as far as alcohol consumption is concerned. The paper sets out to examine present-day alcohol consumption as well as positive and negative experiences related to alcohol in Peninsular Malaysia as well as in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The focus of the paper is to study the impact of ethnic and religious identity on alcohol consumption in East and West Malaysia. The information on West (Peninsular) Malaysia was collected in 1996 and 1997 and the information on East Malaysia (Sarawak) in 1999. The study, however, is not only about the quantities and qualities of alcohol consumed in Malaysia. The alcohol issue is used as a ‘window’ through which the broader issue of the construction of ethnic or racial boundaries in the country is studied. Officially, Malays do not drink alcohol because they are Muslims. In reality, however, some Malays do drink. Ideologically, politically and socially drinking is used as a way of segregating races in Malaysia in general and defining the superiority of the Malay race in particular.

Introduction Malaysia is a multiracial society. Racial identities while well formed and strong were created and consolidated by British colonial rule when differences between racial groups2 were governed by occupational categories. Government degree and the interests of the emerging capitalist economy into discrete groups segregated the population. Both residential and occupational divisions were compounded by language and cultural norms of ethnic affiliation (Guinness 1992, 14). The Chinese were mainly resident in urban areas, in economic activities associated with working in tin industry, and in trade and in commerce. Indians worked in rubber plantations in isolated parts of the rural areas. Malays were engaged in subsistence agriculture without much contact with either the Chinese or the Indians (Abraham 1997, 4).

2

Racial groups need to be separated from ethnic groups. The British colonialists did not make this distinction. Both among the Malays and Chinese (Hakka, Teochew, and Cantonese) in Malaya there were different ethnic groups with different cultures and dialects. These groups did not necessarily communicate with each other. The British, however, ignored these differences and only saw a Malay ‘race’ and a Chinese ‘race’.

3 This racial division also largely coincides with religious differences. Malays are Muslims, Indians Hindus and Chinese Buddhists or believers in other Chinese faiths. After Independence in 1957, the racial or ethnic division has been reproduced and reinforced by the policies of Malay-led governments.

In 1997, according to ILO data, of a population of roughly 22 million, around 62 per cent was Malay, 29 per cent Chinese, nine per cent Indians and the remaining one per cent orang asli (Malaysian aboriginals) and other races and nationalities. The Chinese have traditionally been regarded as the best to do of all the races. The indigenous Malaysian business class, traditionally, has consisted primarily of Chinese while Malays have been regarded as farmers. Indians are generally regarded as the least well-to-do ethnic or racial group.

The populations of Sabah and Sarawak on the Borneon part of the country are more heterogeneous...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...﻿MALAYSIA CONSTITUTION
The Constitution is a document that contains all of the order of rules and regulations constitute an important policy for removing a country's governance and administration. Determining the constitution of the Kingdom,a form of government and the rights of the people.
The Constitution also contains principles that form the national institutions like the executive, legislative and judicial with the powers and role of each institution within the framework of governance and administration of the nation. Constitutions are designed to be guidelines on the pattern of political and administrative system of governance of a country, as well as provide protection to the people. The Constitution also states that the responsibility and duty of every citizen against the government and the nation.
Generally constitutions are divided into two, written and non-written. Written constitution is the constitution that is collected and compiled in one document, while the Constitution was not written are all the constitutional principles that are not collected in a document such as the laws passed by parliament and court decisions. Malaysia possesses a written legal document that has been developed based on the two previous documents, namely the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948 and the 1957 Independence Constitution.
Constitution of Malaysia, known as the Federal Constitution contains 183 items, is the supreme law in...

...﻿Drugs
Introduction to Drugs:
A drug is a substance which may have medicinal, intoxicating, performance enhancing or other effects when taken or put into a human body or the body of another animal and is not considered a food or exclusively a food.
What is considered a drug rather than a food varies between cultures, and distinctions between drugs and foods and between kinds of drug are enshrined in laws which vary between jurisdictions and aim to restrict or prevent drug use. Even within a jurisdiction, however, the status of a substance may be uncertain or contested with respect to both whether it is a drug and how it should be classified if at all. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage. Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, such as opioids or hallucinogens. They may be used for perceived beneficial effects on perception, consciousness, personality, and behavior. Some drugs can cause addiction and/or habituation.
Marijuana:
Marijuana often called pot, grass, reefer, weed or herb is a greenish gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of Cannabis sativa the hemp plant.
How, they are manufactured?
Marijuana is not manufactured as...

...
Different drug uses in colleges
College is a great place for students to build a solid foundation for their futures. College is a place where students finally get a little more freedom, responsibility and a chance to mature. All of these great things during the whole “college experience” but drug abuse has always been a big issue in college campus’s nationwide. The abuse of drugs seems to get worse every year. Drug abuseamong Students is a big issue for so many different reasons. Students will use drugs to reduce stress put on them from different classes, others may take drugs to help make them concentrate on their studies and in some cases even take drugs to help boost their performances as an athlete.
These college students who do abuse drugs do not take in to account the long term negative that these drugs have not only on the mind but the body as well. Alcohol, marijuana, non-prescription medication and Tabaco are the most commonly used drugs on college campuses but what other kind of drugs are college students using in their free time? According to The University of Texas at Austin “students also report using other drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine (i.e., crystal, meth, ice, crank), sedatives, hallucinogens (i.e, LSD, PCP), opiates (i.e., heroin, smack), inhalants, other...

...2
Drugs are generally defined as a substance which alters our normal bodily functions when it is induced into our body. Having a drug free society is to have a community of people living in a particular region, restricted from the usage and influence of drugs. Certain drugs have side effects, in which it can cause addiction to its user. This is why many had considered drugs to be dangerous, they thought that the usage of drugs should be banned completely from the society.
On the contrary to the common beliefs of the society, not all drugs are used for recreational purposes. In the medical field, drugs are widely used in the treatment and prevention diseases. Pain killers such as morphine are used to reduce pain. There are also certain types of drugs where its usage had been known to stimulate brain activity. Nootropics, also known as "cognitive enhancers", can improve our abilities of understanding and acquiring knowledge. For centuries, doctors have made the application of these drugs, beneficial the society. Medicine too would have to be banned if we were to have a drug free society.
Recreational drugs are chemical substances that affects the central nervous system of the brain, the user would be subjected to hallucinations. The users of these drugs are mainly people who are...

...Topic : Drug Abuse Among Teenagers In Malaysia
Term of “drug abuse” is the use of illicit drugs, or the abuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. The abuse of legitimate drugs (prescription or over-the-counter) can happen when people use the drugs in a manner or in quantities other than directed, or for purposes that are not legitimate. The globalization makes the world become smaller and the communication between countries could be done easily due to advance technologies. World without barriers allows cultures from other countries influence the Malaysian especially the youths. There are good and bad cultures. The social problems emerged due to influences of the bad cultures from other countries. One of the problem that influence by youth in Malaysia is about drug abuse among teenagers and cause them cannot identify or analyze what are good and bad things. ( UNICEF Malaysia Communications, 2007). Nowadays, drug abuse among teenagers not only affect the individual, but also the family, and society as a whole. (Lilian Combs, 2011). Some teenagers can use recreational drugs without any negative consequences, but for many others substance abuse can cause problems at home, work, school, and relationships leaving one feeling self-pity, isolation...

...|
Amphetamines belong to a group of drugs called 'psychostimulants'. Amphetamines stimulate the central nervous system, which speeds up the messages going to and from the brain to the body. It alters moods in different ways, depending on how it is taken. Adverse effects range from mild to severe, depending on the dose of amphetamine used and other drugs being used. |
Amphetamines are commonly known as 'speed'. MDMA or 'ecstasy' is a designerdrug related to amphetamines. Amphetamines usually appear as a whitish yellow powder, and occasionally in liquid form. Amphetamines in its smoked form is often referred to 'ice', ' chalk', 'glass', 'shabu' or 'crystal meth'Anabolic steroids are man-made substances related to male sex hormones. Medical uses of anabolic steroids include some hormone problems in men, late puberty and muscle loss from some diseases.Bodybuilders and athletes often use anabolic steroids to build muscles and improve athletic performance. But using them this way is not legal or safe. Abuse of anabolic steroids has been linked with many health problems. They range from unattractive to life threatening and include * Acne and cysts * Breast growth and shrinking of testicles in men * Voice deepening and growth of body hair in women * Heart problems, including heart attack * Liver disease, including cancer * Aggressive behaviorThe term club drug refers to a wide variety of dangerous...

...﻿The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allan Poe
1. Explain the unique aspects of the rooms, including how many of them there are and what makes them different?
2. What is the effect of the ebony clocks’ chimes on the assembled guests?
3. The word mad means insane. What is ironic about the narrator’s mention that ‘There are some who would have thought Prospero mad’?
4. What details about the seventh room makes it grotesque in appearance?
5. What does the masked figure walking and its movement through the 7 rooms represent?
6. Why do you think the masked figure is allowed to walk the length of the rooms uninterrupted?
7. List the elements of Gothic Literature apparent in this story:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
From “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1945
FOR the most wild, yet most homely narrative, which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not -- and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburden my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified -- have tortured -- have destroyed me. Yet I will not attempt to expound them. To me, they have presented little but Horror -- to many they will seem less terrible...

...Drug Use Among Teenagers
While I was conducting my research, I located the actual survey results and
decided to include them with this essay. (I included them at the end of my
essay). ~~~
The three main drugs that are used among teenagers are Marijuana, LSD, and a
variety of inhalants. The use of these drugs seem to be of an astronomical
amount according to the survey conducted by the University of Michigan.
Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and
leaves of the hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa). You may hear marijuana called by
street names such as pot, herb, weed, boom, Mary Jane, gangster, or chronic.
There are more than 200 slang terms for marijuana.
Sinsemilla (sin-seh-me-yah; it's a Spanish word), hashish
("hash" for short), and hash oil are stronger forms of
marijuana.
All forms of marijuana are mind-altering. This means they change how the brain
works. They all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active
chemical in marijuana. But there are also 400 other chemicals in the marijuana
plant.
LSD
LSD is very potent: the effective dose is measured in micrograms (ug) --
however, the lethal dose is literally thousands of times that, making the
drug essentially non-toxic. LSD can be administered a number of ways,
the most common: orally through paper, sugar cubes, on a piece of gelatin,
or by pill;...